Babylon 5 Creator Says a Single Warner Bros. Executive Stopped the Show’s Comeback for Close to 20 Years

Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski revealed a single Warner Bros. executive halted the show’s long-awaited comeback. Thankfully, that person has now retired.

Taking to Twitter to herald the release of the show’s upcoming Blu-ray release, Straczynski revealed why Babylon 5 has seen a recent resurgence.

“There was one person at the studio who hated all things Babylon 5 and stood in the way of anything being done with the show, ever, for close to 20 years,” he confirmed. “Once that person finally retired, the floodgates opened.”

https://t.co/giOV88pUBo pic.twitter.com/Os8EPY3vZq

— J. Michael Straczynski (@straczynski) July 19, 2023

“I don’t want to dwell on this because we’ve moved on and this is a time for celebration,” Straczynski added. “The past can’t be changed or litigated; we move on and make the speed bumps we drove over just the speed bumps we drove over.”

Despite this one executive, it looks as though Warner Bros. was quite keen to return to Babylon 5. In fact, it wasn’t Straczynski who made the first move. “They called me,” he said. “That’s how the reimagining and the animated movie started. And everyone — *everyone* — at Warners who I’ve dealt with since has been ridiculously supportive of the show, positive and welcoming.”

The upcoming Blu-ray release, Babylon 5: The Complete Series, is only the beginning. The long-awaited Babylon 5 reboot has been picking up steam, with Straczynski confirming it’s currently on hold “pending WGA issues”. The fact that it’s in the scripting stage is exciting, however, and could mean a return to Epsilon Eridani… eventually.

Of course, there’s also the upcoming animated movie. Babylon 5: The Road Home is a “love letter” to the original show, with a voice cast that brings back numerous cast members including Bruce Boxleitner as John Sheridan, Claudia Christian as Susan Ivanova, Peter Jurasik as Londo Mollari, Bill Mumy as Lennier, Tracy Scoggins as Elizabeth Lochley, and Patricia Tallman as Lyta Alexander. The upcoming animated film debuts on August 15, 2023.

Meanwhile, you can start rewatching the original Babylon 5 in HD with the new Blu-ray release. “This is essentially the same as the very nice 4:3 remaster done for HBO-Max, which matches the original broadcast,” said Straczynski. “But putting it onto Blu-Ray increases the bitrate so it should look even better than it did there.”

Want to read more about upcoming sci-fi? Check out Michael Cera’s new sci-fi comedy as well as the first trailer for Rogue One director’s new film The Creator.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.